There is one stop on the way to the top of the NBA
The Cleveland Cavaliers appear to be in the midst of their most memorable regular season to date. They have the best record in the entire NBA at 48-10. The Cavs are on an eight-game win streak only rivaled by their previous win streaks of 12 and 15 games respectively.
They have straight-up kicked the crap out of two of their biggest playoff foes in recent years. Last Friday, the Cavaliers put 2022-23 in the mirror by curb-stomping the New York Knicks 142-105. Then on Tuesday, they took last season’s opening-round opponent the Orlando Magic, and introduced them to how Cavalanches feel firsthand with another decimation to the tune of 122-82.
The Cavaliers appear to be checking all the ghosts of their recent past. Despite the Cavaliers appearing to vanquish their preexisting doubts, they still are not considered the favorite to win it all. The shadow looming over the feel-good vibes resides in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Celtics are currently the standard that teams, even those in the Western Conference, look to for championship aspirations. The Cavaliers, even while thriving, have not shifted their attention from the reigning NBA champs. While it’s true that the title defender has not made it out of the second since 2019, the Celtics’ roster composition obviously is in the back of Koby Altman’s mind.
That was most evident in the acquisition of De’Andre Hunter.
Hunter provides someone at 6’8, that the Cavaliers can finally throw at the bigger bodies of the Celtics. The Cavaliers and Celtics have squared off three times this season. The Celtics currently hold the season series lead at 2-1. The winner of each game can be attributed to strong first halves in the three games.
The Celtics, when they won, had the Cavaliers reeling early off the tip. Part of this is because the Cavaliers had to try a different lineup symmetry to match up with the Celtics.
Their answer was never perfect, though, with their roster construction at the time. Looks could vary from Jarrett Allen not being able to be on the floor to close games to Georges Niang having to play the four for long stretches. Max Strus, in their latest matchup, got switched to hell, having his assignments vary from Jaylen Brown to Jason Tatum and even Kristaps Porzingis.
It was evident to the front office that this was not ideal for postseason play. Hence, the Hunter move hypothetically fits the bill. Hunter had something that the smaller Cavaliers lacked. Switchability and adaptability are hard when the team is essentially full of guards and centers. With Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro constantly appearing on the injury report, dependability is also a tough sell for playoff solutions. Hunter and new signee Javonte Green hypothetically provide reinforcements to a very shallow position for the Cavaliers.
At full strength, they have gone from a team that hinged on the health of two wing-stoppers to a team that can have a plethora of options to throw out. The Cavaliers can match the Celtics’ height with a lineup we have seen recently in Mitchell, Hunter, Wade, Okoro, and Mobley. This is a defensive-oriented lineup, and we haven’t seen the Cavaliers experiment with this core, even at their defensive peak in past seasons.
Postseason basketball calls for creative lineups for the given situation and in dire times. The Cavaliers have essentially had to white-knuckle their way through a given series and hope the chips fall in their favor. Against New York, no amount of lineup configuration could solve their lack of wings to provide more height on the glass and against the Knicks’ top offensive options. The win over Orlando resulted from neither team being capable of squeezing more juice out of their roster.
The Cavaliers have been quieting the doubters with their dominance, however, if they want to even have a chance to win a title, they will have to show that they have long-term answers to the Celtics.
They were able to show enough grit and talent to win selective games in years past. However, in the postseason, the solution needs to be more permanent. Something the Celtics can’t scheme around. If they can show stretches against Boston on Friday, a team that can give them real trouble for a potential seven-game series, the Celtics will no longer be the gold standard.